The pair will be under fierce scrutiny at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai as they return to action for the first time since Vettel ignored team orders to overtake Webber and win the second race of the season.

“I told the team straight after I apologised for putting myself above the team, which I didn’t mean to do,” Vettel told the website for Infiniti, the Red Bull team’s title partner.

“I don’t apologise for winning, I think that’s why people employed me in the first place. That’s why I’m here, I love racing, so that’s what I did.”

Vettel, the reigning world champion, and his aggrieved team-mate were said to have called a truce after Vettel’s controversial late pass at Sepang for one of the most contentious wins of recent years.

The German’s latest comments appear to conflict with his post-race apology to Webber in which he bluntly admitted he had made a mistake.